Ephesians

Calvinism 4.0: Man as Fallen

Christ Church on June 18, 2018

Introduction

The nature of the problem dictates whether or not there can even be a solution, and if so, what that solution might be. Among evangelical Christians, the nature of the “problem” salvation that salvation solves can be described in two basic ways. Either man is sick in his sin, needing to take the medicine, or he is dead in his sin, needed to be resurrected from the dead.

Our purpose here is to examine which of these two options is the Bible’s teaching on this subject.

Free Agents

As we have already considered, because all men are free agents they are free to do as they please. But because they are sinners, what they please to do is sin. They cannot please to choose contrary to their nature, because if they could, it wouldn’t be their nature.

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:21–23).

The source of all the evil things we do is the unflattering fact of the evil creatures that we are.

As creatures, men are free to do as they please. As sinners, men are not free to do right. If a man could repent his sins and believe in Christ with his old heart, then this would be proof positive that he didn’t really need a new heart. He could do all that God requires of us (repent and believe) with his old heart. Apparently the old heart just needed a little encouragement.

Spiritual Death

Now the Scriptures expressly describe the unregenerate condition as being one of death. This does not mean that unbelievers are dead in every possible respect—but with regard to spiritual things, they certainly are in a condition of death. For example, sinners can be physically alive while spiritually dead.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Eph. 2:1–3).

We walked in accordance with the pattern of the world. The spirit at work in the children of disobedience worked in our conversation (that is, in our manner of living). So clearly we were moving about—all while dead in our trespasses and sins.

Spiritual Slavery

Another picture that excludes “free will” with regard to salvation is the picture of slavery. Dead men do not walk out of the grave, and slaves do not walk away from their masters.

“For when ye were the servants [douloi, slaves] of sin, ye were free from righteousness” (Romans 6:20).

This is a different image, but one that also communicates a sense of utter inability to break free from sin. Dead men can’t reach life. Slaves cannot reach liberty.

No Autonomous Seekers

Now we all know that people do not become Christians unless they seek the Lord. The debate between Christians on this point therefore is not over whether we need to seek the Lord. It is over why we seek the Lord, if and when we do. Men, left to themselves, relinquished to their own devices, will not seek after God. And this is what the Bible explicitly and expressly teaches.

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10–12).

How many are unrighteous? All. How many seek a way out of their unrighteousness? None.

An Important Qualification

This doctrine I am setting before you is sometimes called the doctrine of total depravity. This is a poor name for it because it makes people think you are maintaining a doctrine of absolute depravity. But we are not saying that unbelievers are the orcs, and we are the elves. It is not like that. We are saying that unbelievers are, apart from a gift of grace, on their way to Hell. We are not maintaining that they have already arrived there.

We are saying that because of Adam’s sin, and our complicity in it, our fall into helplessness was total. There is a total inability to save ourselves, to prepare ourselves for salvation, or to request salvation.

One other qualification. An unregenerate person can love the Lord, but only by radically misunderstanding and misconstruing Him. An unregenerate person can understand the Lord in His holiness, but this results in a simple recoil away from Him. The only way a sinner can understand who God is, and also love Him, is if the Spirit of God has granted him a new heart.

This basic point is seen in the Bible’s description of the minds of unbelievers. They are seen as hostile to God (that is, to God as He actually is).

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7–8; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14).

Who Then Can Be Saved?

The problem with all this is that it leaves us without hope of salvation, right? No, it leaves us without hope of salvation from man. What is impossible for men is possible for God.

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

“And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father” (John 6:65).

If the Father does not do the drawing, if the Father does not give it, a man cannot come. Another translation for the word for draw (elkuo) is drag or haul. “How did you come to Christ?” “Oh, I was hauled.”

But does this mean that no one ever comes? No—it means that everyone who comes (and remember that the entire world will eventually come) has been hauled in by God.

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

What man cannot do with any success, God can do with no failure. And what is that? The resurrection of the dead.

Led Captivity Captive (Ascension Sunday 2018)

Christ Church on May 13, 2018

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Introduction

Today we are commemorating the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven, the time when He received universal dominion, absolute and unfettered, from the hand of His Father. But we must never forget that His Ascension is built on the bedrock of His Descent. We are told that He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. One of those gifts is the privilege of imitating Him in this pattern—true glorification is always set on the granite foundation of sacrificial suffering.

The Text

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…” (Eph. 4:7–11).

Summary of the Text

Notice what the bottom line in this passage is. We are talking about the Ascension of Christ, but this is the basis for the gift of Christ. Having ascended, He has given to each one of us grace according to the measure of His gift (v. 7). The Old Testament testifies to this (Ps. 68:18), saying that the Lord ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and gave gifts to men (v. 8). Paul reasons that if He ascended, He must first have descended (v. 9). But where? He says to the “lower parts of the earth,” which some take to mean His descent in the Incarnation. But Paul actually says “lower parts of the earth,” not “earth, the lower part of the cosmos.” Paul is arguing that the extent of the Lord’s glorification is commensurate with the depth of His humiliation, and refers to His descent into Hades, where He liberated all the Old Testament saints in His resurrection (leading captivity captive). So the one who descended is the one who ascended, in order that He might fill all things (v. 10). And when He gave gifts, what gifts did He give? He gave us men—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers (v. 11). He gave us men who would follow the pattern set by Jesus.

Prerogatives of Power

The Lord who made Heaven and earth alone has the power to make the pathway between them. When Jacob dreamed of a great ladder to Heaven, he saw angels ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). But when Jesus spoke to Nathanael, a man with less guile than Jacob apparently, He said that the angels would be ascending and descending upon the Son of man. He was the ladder, in other words (Jn. 1:51). He is the means of ascending and descending.

“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” (Prov. 30:4).

We worship a God who reveals Himself. When He comes down, when He descends, He then speaks. The Lord descends and the smoke ascends.

“And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly” (Ex. 19:18).

This is what happened at Sinai, when God brought the law. But this was not raw condemnation. We need to hear everything God says about His descending and ascending.

Christ is Always the Point

God came down on Mt. Sinai and delivered His law. But in that delivery, although we sometimes miss the point, God never misses the point. What is the point of the whole law? Christ is the point, purpose, or end of the law for everyone who believes.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:4–10).

Christ can descend all by Himself. No one needs to go fetch Him, and no one could fetch Him. Christ was raised from the dead by the power of His Father and His Spirit, but He was not passive. He took His life up again (John 10:17). No one needed to go help.

Gut or Grace

Gut it out and fail, or grace it out and walk right in. The righteousness that is of the law talks this way. The man who does these things, this man is a doer of righteousness. Unfortunately, this man does not exist.

The righteousness that is of faith says that you shouldn’t and can’t go up to Heaven to get Christ. The righteousness that is of faith says that you shouldn’t and can’t go down into Hades to make Him rise from the dead. The reason is for this is that all of this has already happened. Why go do what has been done? Why go off to do what you couldn’t do anyway? The word of faith which we preach is the declaration that all of this has been done. What Christ said from the cross can also be said over every step of this glorious ladder between Heaven and earth. It is finished. That’s done. And now that. And now that. The last that is you in glory.

Christ has descended, first to earth, where He ascended the cross. Having ascended the cross, He descended to Hades. Having descended to Hades, He rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, where He now sits on the right hand of God the Father. This is your hope, this is your joy, this is your crown, this is your salvation. Walk in it.

Apostles Creed 17: The Holy Catholic Church

Christ Church on October 22, 2017

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction

So as we approach the 500th anniversary of the commencement of the Protestant Reformation, it is fitting that we have now come to this phrase in the Creed — why do we, stout Protestants that we are, confess that we believe in the holy Catholic Church. Maybe in addition to being stout Protestants, we are also confused Protestants?

The Text

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

Summary of the Text

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25–27).

Husbands are told to love their wives in the way that Christ loves His wife. He loved His Church, and a result of that love was that He gave Himself for her. Giving-love is not a special sort of love; giving love is love. Not only did He give Himself, He gave Himself with a particular end in view. He had the future glory of His bride in mind, loving her with the full intention that the end of the process would be altogether lovely. That ragamuffin street girl would marry the Prince of Heaven.

Now the basic truth in all this is not complicated. The Lord Jesus is a monogamist. He has one bride, and He is going to love her throughout all the course of human history, and will love her efficaciously such that every spot, wrinkle, and blemish is removed. That one bride is the holy catholic church. If you want to know where this catholic church is located, simply look for the Spirit of Christ. As Cyprian once put it, where the Spirit is, there is the church.

A Few Comments About Terms

The word catholic simply means universal. In fact some of you may have been in churches that, when they said the Creed, footnoted this word to make sure you knew that. “Yes, we are a catholic church, but not catholic catholic.”

Our modern use of Protestant and Catholic is somewhat misleading. When the controversy that resulted in the Reformation began, there were two parties to the conflict. There was the papal party and there was the reforming party, both functioning within the Church. Without injustice, we may think of the terms this way. There was the Roman Catholic faction and there was the Protesting Catholic faction. Both claimed to be representing the one, true, catholic and apostolic faith. Both still claim that. But think for a moment. Roman Catholic is oxymoronic—Rome is a city in Italy and catholic means universal.

But Are Protestants Negative?

It would be easy to think that Protestants are defined by what they are against. We hear the word protest in Protestant, loud and clear. But it would be better to link it to another way of breaking the word down—think of pro-testimony. This is a confession of what we believe—and to the extent we are against something, it is merely that we are against the renewal of lunatic persecutions on the basis of faith. This was the origin of the term Protestant (at the second Diet of Speyer). They weren’t picketing; they were testifying.

The Church through History

But what would you say if an intelligent Roman Catholic asked you this (quite reasonable) question? “Where was your church before the Reformation?” There are two faithful Protestant ways to answer this question, and both have a great deal of merit. The baptistic answer points to what is called the “trail of blood.” “Where were we before the Reformation? Hiding from you guys, mostly. In mountainous valleys, caves, and deep forests.” The other answer comes from what are called the magisterial Protestants, and it runs like this: “Well, where was your face before you washed it?”

What we do not want to do is pretend that our church came into existence in 1517 in Germany, or in 1799 on the Kentucky frontier. We are not restorationists. If your church cannot be traced back to the faith and martyrdom of Abel, then it is far too young. For those who want to argue on the basis of antiquity alone, they need to remember that Cain was older.

But in the meantime, we should not feel ashamed to own, as our brothers in Christ, men like Boniface, Chrysostom, Augustine, or Anselm. The entire history of redemption belongs to us, and this includes the declensions as well as the reformations and revivals.

Defined by Word and Sacrament

We believe that the gospel is prior to the church, and is the foundation for it. We believe that the gospel is prior to apostles, bishops, pastors, evangelists, not to mention mountebanks and frauds. “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). The Church is the plant that grows from the seed, and the seed is the gospel. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Pet. 1:23). Wherever the gospel comes, life follows after it. And when life follows, and you have two or three born again by the Spirit of God, there you have the church. If you had five infidels washed up on a desert island, and a Bible with them, could they repent and start worshiping God? Absolutely.

The Boundaries of True Faith

John Calvin taught that when you want to recognize someone, you look at their face. You don’t try to define where a man “leaves off” by trying to calculate the precise end of his tie, or the tips of his shoelaces.

You can say confidently that all of Nebraska is in the United States. And you shouldn’t be worried about which atoms of ocean water are in our territorial waters and which ones are outside. That’s not how you tell where the United States might be.

Taking it a step further, when you want to find the true church, look for Jesus. Where is He honored and worshiped? Where is He proclaimed? Where is His bread broken, and His wine poured? Look for Jesus and you will find His bride. That is because He never leaves her side.

Apostles Creed 16: I Believe in the Holy Ghost

Christ Church on October 16, 2017

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction

The fact that the Holy Spirit is mentioned by name late in the Creed does not make Him an afterthought. He is not present here as a postscript. When we begin the Creed with the words I believe, this is only possible because the Holy Spirit has been at work. He is the one who quickens us into new life, and who is therefore the one who consequently enables us to believe any aspect of the gospel.

The Text

Summary of the Text

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). We see here in our text that the Spirit and the Word accompany one another. The word of truth, the gospel, the message of salvation, is the thing anointed, and the Spirit is the one who anoints it with Himself. He anoints the message by anointing the believing ears that hear the message. This is how we are sealed. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of promise. He is the one who was promised through the prophets, and the one who fulfills the promise, as well as the present comforter who renews the promise.

Not A Blind Force

Because the work of the Spirit is to testify to Jesus (Rev. 19:10), and the work of Jesus is to bring us to the Father (John 14:6), it is sometimes easy for us to start taking the Spirit’s “behind the scenes” identity for granted. But we must understand Him, and this begins with understanding that He is a Him. He is not an impersonal force, like electricity or something.

Throughout the New Testament, we consistently find the Holy Spirit referred to by the masculine personal pronoun, despite the fact that the word spirit is grammatically neuter. As a Person, the Holy Spirit can be grieved (Eph. 4:30). It is possible to lie to Him, as Ananias and Sapphira did (Acts 5:3).

The Holy Spirit speaks commands and can be obeyed (Acts 10:19-21). The presence of the Spirit is a comforting presence (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit has a will (1 Cor. 12:11). There are many other such passages. Included in the Trinity, the Spirit is not an impersonal addition to the other two persons.

In God to God

Remember that there is only one God, and this God exists in three eternal persons. These persons are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We need to consider this triune God in two different ways. Note that we are considering Him in two ways; we are not considering two Gods. Theologians distinguish God as He is within Himself (the ontological Trinity) and God as He works in our midst (the economic Trinity). The following illustration is an illustration of His economic working.

“For through him [Christ] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Eph. 2:18). The Father is the city we are driving to, the Son is the road we travel, and the Holy Spirit is the car. The Father is the harbor we are sailing toward, the Son is the ocean, and the Holy Spirit is the wind behind us in our sails. The triune God brings us to Himself along Himself by Himself.

The Earnest of Our Inheritance

Our text says that we were sealed by the Holy Spirit. This is said a number of times. “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:22). The word for earnest is arrabon, meaning down payment or earnest money. It means pledge, deposit, or guarantee. God gives us Himself as an earnest payment on our final inheritance, our final salvation. Someone might say that this does not prevent someone so sealed from going to Hell. Well, all right, but that means that if a sealed believer goes to Hell, the Spirit goes there with Him.

What good is a guarantee that guarantees nothing? God is not like a dishonest merchant who gives out lifetime guarantees, where the guarantee is only for the lifetime of the product. “It is guaranteed to work until it doesn’t.” “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit” (2 Cor. 5:5). The verse after our text says the same thing. “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:14).

The Spirit Glorifies Christ

We believe in the Holy Spirit, and He is the one who enables us to believe everything that we should, in gladness rejoicing.

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:18–20).

What produces the same effect in the parallel book of Colossians? “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). Put these two passages together. The Spirit is not the “fluid” that fills us. Rather, He is the agent who fills us with something else, the word of Christ. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly by means of the Holy Spirit . . .” We believe in the Holy Spirit, most certainly, but we believe from within Him.

Biblical Psalmody

Christ Church on September 3, 2017

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The Text:

“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” Ephesians 5:17-21

1. The Uniqueness and Importance of the Psalms

2. The Purpose and Context of Psalm Singing/Recitation in Scripture

Corporate

Exodus 15
Deuteronomy 33
Judges 5
Acts 4

Individual

1 Samuel 2
Luke 1:46-55

3. The Challenge of Psalm Singing in Scripture

Ezekiel 33:30-33
Exodus 15:14-18

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